Demand for emergency food aid has spiked this year in Britain, a leading charity said Wednesday, suggesting low-income households' living standards are still sliding despite the end of the recession.

The Trussell Trust, a Christian charity that operates food banks throughout the country, said in a report that just under 356,000 people received three days of non-perishable food between April and September -about 10,000 more than in the full 12 months before.

Chris Mould, the Trussell Trust's executive chairman, appealed to the government to launch an inquiry into the causes of hunger in the U.K. With winter approaching, the worst may be yet to come.

"This is disturbing," he said. "It's not going away. It's getting worse."

Worries ahead of winter

Mould said that increasing numbers of people in Britain are living on incomes that are insufficient to cover the rising costs of food, gas and electricity, fuel, transport and other basic necessities. Disposable incomes have fallen, when adjusted for inflation, since the global financial crisis erupted in 2007-2008. But the cost of necessities has risen - gas and electricity costs are up 30 percent in real terms since 2007.

The trust says many people this winter will choose between "eating and heating."

"People at food banks have started giving back food items that need cooking because they can't afford to turn on the electricity," the trust said in a statement.

The British Red Cross announced last week it would have 30,000 volunteers help in a massive food drive at the end of November. The Red Cross hasn't been involved in food distribution on a wide scale in Britain since World War II.